She-Devil
by SassyJ
Summary: Raylan decides to cheer Tim up after Tim's cat dies. Some things are never going to go according to plan.
1. Chapter 1

In a long list of bad ideas, Raylan Givens was almost sure that this might have been the worst one he had had in a long time.

In common with nearly all of his ideas, it had begun with the best intentions. Partner having a rough time, check, get present guaranteed to cheer partner up. Check. Get to work to discover partner has gone out of town on a long-haul transfer for a week, therefore stuck with present.

Present proves to be unexpectedly feisty.

Raylan tugged the back of the ratty old sofa forwards a little. He had ten minutes to find her before he had to be heading out of the door, and she was good at hiding in unexpected places. He just needed to be certain that she wasn't in the car again. After yesterday's scare that had nearly given him a heart-attack and caused him to crash. Explaining the dents in the hood had taxed even Raylan's litany of excuses and ingenuity to the limit. He still wasn't sure that Art believed him.

He reached down, and waved the hotdog wiener. Not exactly cat food, but he'd discovered that cat food didn't necessarily appeal. He could hear something that sounded like tiny claws, he waggled the wiener again.

She flew through the air, bypassed the wiener and latched on to Raylan's hand. He yelped, and yanked his arm back, the kitten clinging to his wrist. Her front paws wrapped tight around his wrist, biting his arm with passionate enjoyment as her back paws scrabbled at his hand.

"Dammit." Raylan tried to unhook her with his free hand, and interest her in the wiener. "You little…" she was purring at him, squirming under the grip of his hand, he stared into the bright green eyes as she opened her mouth.

"Y'kinda wanna bite, don't ya?" He said.

There was a second's delay, then her tiny fangs sank into the base of his thumb.

Raylan winced, and carefully pried her off his hand. Putting her down on the soft cushion he'd bought for her, he backed out slowly, index finger ticked in her direction. "Stay…" He reversed through the door and snapped it shut quickly.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he got into the Lincoln and headed off to work.

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"Here, let me." Rachel took the can of antiseptic spray out of Raylan's hand, gently turned his scraped and bitten hand over, cleansing the obvious wounds. "Get into a fight cowboy?"

He snorted, "an unwinnable one."

"New pet? For Franny?"

Raylan blushed. "For Tim." He admitted.

Rachel grinned. "Kitten?"

He actually squirmed. "Yup." Looked up, "she wants blood, unfortunately, I think it's mine."

"And this is Tim's present?"

"Huh… yeah!" He had the feeling he was being laughed at. "Why?"

Rachel's smile was a knowing one. "Uh-huh!" She said.

Raylan humphed under his breath and pretended not to notice. The instant Tim was back from his trip, Raylan was driving over to his place with the little she-devil in a box, and then it was back to his solitary existence.


	2. Chapter 2

"JEEZUS, Raylan." Winona put her free hand on her hip and glared at him.

Raylan was too preoccupied with easing his battered body in the general direction of his bed. Preferably without losing every last shred of his dignity first.

Courtesy of an examination by paramedics he knew nothing was broken, but they had worked him over but good, and Raylan was hurting.

"Nothing a shower and a good night's sleep won't fix." His attempt at normal sounded a bit high and breathy to his ears, and then he realized that Winona wasn't buying any of it.

"I know I was supposed to watch Franny while you shop…" He trailed off, one more example of letting Winona down. Not helping.

She sighed and followed his slow progress down the hallway to his bedroom. Putting Franny's car seat down, she started to help him off with his clothes, and pull the covers down so he could get into bed. Most of it was accomplished in silence. But Raylan knew Winona's silences, and this one was more concern than anger.

He was down to wifebeater and boxers, so he turned and slowly began to slip under the covers, Winona gently guiding his legs. He slumped carefully onto his side, aware that she was pulling the covers back over him, which made the sudden shriek "OH MY GOD… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

Raylan opened his eyes, the ball of black fluff was inches from his nose. He eyed her warily, and the bright little green eyes stared back at him. Then she slipped down the pillow and crawled under his chin, where she curled up and started to purr.

"Kitten." Getting words out was difficult, but mostly because his brain was craving sleep and not explanations. "Present for Tim."

Winona smoothed the covers gently over him. "Really." There was something in that tone, but he hurt too much to think over much about it.

"Kroger's, on senior specials night, with a cranky Franny." Winona ran a gentle hand through his hair. "Greater love hath no woman… but how'bout I get some things, bring 'em back here…"

Despite the soreness of his cheek, Raylan smiled. Winona stretched out a finger and brushed it gently over the side of his face, avoiding the bruises. Her hand ran down, under his chin, and it was on the tip of Raylan's tongue to warn her, but the purring increased.

Winona picked up Franny and headed for the doorway, "back in an hour or so."

The purring continued, slowly Raylan slid his hand up, and very gently cupped her body. The purr stayed as two paws wrapped themselves around his fingers, he felt the tentative brush of teeth, and then a rough little tongue started to caress his thumb.

Something in the back of Raylan's mind said two days. He dismissed it as his aching body demanded sleep.

Then there was only warmth, purring and a little pink tongue.


	3. Chapter 3

A scampering of tiny paws, and a grey ball of fluff launched itself at the cluster of feathers waving so temptingly, the cluster whisked out of reach at the very last second, the kitten stopped, face turned up to wherever the feathers went, little blue eyes blinking rapidly. A giant hand swopped down and picked up the little fluffy body. The kitten settled into Tim's hand and started purring.

Rachel grinned. "She's adorable." Reached out and gently stroked the top of the tiny head. "I thought you bought a black kitten?"

Raylan shifted on his seat, and hitched his daughter a little higher on his chest. "Erm…" he cleared his throat, deliberately avoiding Winona's eyes.

Winona grinned and joined Rachel in petting Tim's new pet. "That would be because there is a black kitten, but he got attached."

Raylan's eyes were fixed on Franny, but Rachel could see the colour climbing in his cheeks. He pulled his hat down a little lower, and hitched Franny until he could practically hide behind her.

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It was late when he got in, he'd dropped Winona and his baby girl off first, stayed for final feeding, and a night cap, and then headed back. Early start.

She was waiting as he knew she would be, "there have to be some rules here." He scooped her off the pillow, and sat down, toeing out of his boots. He gently flipped her over in his hands, her front paws wrapped around his hand again, and he winced as her tiny claws sank into his flesh, "that's gonna be one of them. Fewer claws in the gun hand please" she was giving him that bright-eyed look again. "Y'kinda wanna bite again, don'cha?" he felt the graze of her tiny teeth again, as the little eyes watched him, and she gnawed at the edge of his thumbnail.

He put her down on the pillow again "y'have a perfectly good pillow over there." He pointed. She was as bright as a button, her little head tilted as she watched him.

He sighed, and stripped down to take a shower. In and out, roughly toweling off the water, rubbing up his hair, dragged out a pair of sleep pants, and a wife beater.

She had made herself at home in the gap between the pillows, he could see the little black poker that was her tail, showing above the gap, one little green eye staring at him, just waiting. He pulled his clothes on, took one last rub at his hair, pulled the covers back and slipped into bed.

She waited, he could see her poised, ready, waiting. The leap was gong to come, and she was flying through the air again. Paws stretched out wide, as she went for his gun hand, grabbed, over-balanced and plopped down landing next to his chest, squirming over and snuggling up against the underside of his chin. She was purring, nipping at his jaw, and cuddling up against him.

"Rules." He sighed, as she snuggled and purred, and he could feel the softness of her jet black coat, and the affectionate nips she bestowed on his jaw, and the miniature hooks which pricked the skin of his hand.

Some rules, huh!


	4. Chapter 4

"Raylan. Your cat is insane." Winona eyed the hat warily. A long black paw waved lazily.

"Huh?" He came to the bathroom door, still brushing his teeth.

She pointed, "your cat." He shrugged, walked over to the bedside table, and scooped his cat out of his Stetson.

She-Devil's paws wrapped around his arm, and she was nipping his wrist bone, tail flicking, as her green-eyed gaze watched every move Winona made.

_It's just a cat_. Winona told herself as she buckled Franny into the carseat. It was more than a little unnerving as Raylan ushered her to the door, the cat clinging to his arm, Raylan petting her absent-mindedly. Even when he put Franny's carseat in the car, the crazy cat refused to let go of his wrist.

Winona sighed, and waved as she drove off. _Just a cat_.

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She flew through the air, bypassing the cluster of feathers and latched on to the arm waving the feathers.

"YEOUCH!" Tim tried to detach her from his arm, but she wrapped her front paws tighter, and scrabbled at his elbow, ears back, green eyes blinking furiously as she nipped at his wrist. "Raylan, your cat is half-wild."

Raylan shrugged, "only pet the tame half then."

Tim's eyes narrowed, "ha ha." He said sourly as he finally pried She-Devil loose, pulling his sleeve down over the scrapes. "Perhaps if you had discouraged her when she was a kitten…" He grouched a little.

Raylan actually blushed and looked rather shifty.

"But you thought it was cute because she was a little fighter." Tim didn't even bother to make that a question. "Y'know Winona thinks she's possessed."

Raylan walked over to scoop her up, She-Devil immediately reached up and started to nuzzle and lick at his jaw, kneading his shoulder with her paws and purring, and Raylan just let her.

Tim rolled his eyes.

There was something disturbingly cute about Raylan's relationship with his crazy cat, as loathe as Tim was to admit it, and frankly Tim thought that Raylan's ex-wife had a point. She-Devil was one mixed-up, lunatic cat.

The biting and scrabbling was, presumably, She-Devil's disturbed way of showing some sort of affection. Tim Gutterson shuddered to think of the way she might express displeasure.

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He realised that something was wrong as he took another step, his legs didn't seem to want to obey him anymore, and a vague sense of unease took over as he turned to look at Boyd.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask the question, but his knees buckled and his legs went from under him, and he hit the floor hard. He heard "pick him up" from very far away, and a high-pitched yowl throbbed through the air as his vision greyed out.

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Boyd Crowder did not want to do this, but he needed Raylan Givens out of the way for long enough so that Raylan couldn't interfere with his plans.

Boyd really feared that if Raylan interfered, then Boyd would be forced to kill the Marshal, and that was the last thing he wanted. He capped the syringe, and slipped it back into his pocket.

He couldn't leave Raylan lying on the floor where he dropped, mostly in case the cowboy came round early from his little nap. Mercifully, the bed wasn't far away. Boyd leaned over, grabbed Raylan's wrists and began to pull him in the direction of the bed.

Despite his lean build, Raylan was deceptively heavy, and Boyd struggled to get him up on the mattress. He struggled to pull off the cowboy boots and dropped them to the floor, loosening the cowboy's tie, undoing his belt, Boyd was doing his best to make the unconscious Marshal as comfortable as possible.

He had done all he could, Boyd lifted Raylan's limp arm, produced a sturdy zip tie and tightly secured Raylan's left wrist to the headboard. He figured that would hold Raylan a while longer, but not forever, knowing that Raylan was both tough and resourceful.

"Sorry." He told the unconscious man. Something made Boyd reach out and stroke a hand gently down the side of Raylan's face.

'YEOWWWWWLLL" Something shrieked in Boyd's ear, and the Harlan man jumped back, shaking his hand as something raked viciously across the back of it. He stared.

The black cat was between him and Raylan. Green eyes sparking with hatred, mouth open wide in an evil hiss, ears flat to her head. Crouched protectively between them.

Tentatively he stretched his hand out, she struck like a viper, hissing and spitting with rage as her tail lashed from side to side.

He couldn't help himself, he threw his head back and roared with laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

Rachel peered around the door. "Tim. We have a problem."

_What problem?_

She really couldn't believe she was saying this, she stared down at her cell. "We found Raylan."

"YEOUCH!" Art stumbled backwards. "Damn cat's insane."

_You found Raylan._ She could sense the _and_ attached to that statement.

"Yeah. We found Raylan, only…" There was no way she was going to explain this over the cell. "Just get here."

She heard him huff, and then the call was disconnected, and she turned to Art. "No luck."

He gave her the look. Rachel sighed. "Perhaps we should call Winona."

"According to Tim, Winona's scared to death of the cat."

"Actually, what I said was that Winona thinks She-Devil's possessed." Rachel jumped.

"Tim." She put a hand to her chest.

He grinned. "What's the problem?"

Rachel frowned, and pointed. "Raylan's out cold, we can't wake him, and the cat won't let anyone get close enough to even see if he's alright."

Tim rolled his eyes, and grinned at his irritated boss. "Big bad Chief Deputy scared of a little bitty kitty."

Art scowled, and waved his arm with the long cat scratches over the wrist. "There's nothing _little bitty_ about that creature. It knows you, maybe it won't attack."

Tim sighed. Shrugged out of his Marshals' windbreaker, it was thin, but it should hold her.

Raylan was fully clothed, secured to the bed with a zip tie around his left wrist and the head board, from what Tim could see the cowboy was asleep. It didn't take a genius to work out that the sleep wasn't natural, and something had set She-Devil off.

She was growling, her ears were back, green eyes sparking with fear, tail lashing from side to side. If he threw his jacket over her head, he was going to have to get hold of the back of her neck really quickly because she was going to go ballistic and Tim really did not want to be lacerated.

"Hey," Tim kept his voice low and reassuring, hoping that she recognized him. He'd been curious from the moment that Raylan had admitted that the first kitty had somehow burrowed into Raylan's heart and stayed there. The little grey kitten Raylan had given him had blossomed into a sweet little cat he called Minnie who was always pleased to see him, and gave Tim something to come home to. She-Devil was very different.

The growling had calmed a bit, Tim edged closer, She-Devil's ears were half-mast now, she seemed uncertain. Tim decided to push his luck. He moved right up to the bed and sat down on the edge, She-Devil squished between him and Raylan. She had stopped growling, Tim cautiously reached over and very gently lifted Raylan's left eyelid.

"SHIT." Tim turned, "Better get an ambulance." He yelled over his shoulder. Slowly he reached for his pocket knife, carefully sliced through the zip tie holding Raylan's wrist to the headboard, and took Raylan's pulse. It was sluggish and he could hardly feel it.

She-Devil crawled into his lap, and for a moment Tim thought she was about to strike, but she squished up against him, paws kneading his leg, she was dribbling and rubbing her head against his chest. Tim figured that for some kind of severe anxiety response.

He wrapped an arm around the cat on his lap and reached over Raylan pulling the afghan comforter over his partner, spreading it out awkwardly with one hand.

A footstep behind him, Art hovering, no doubt Rachel outside waiting to flag down the ambulance.

"It safe."

Tim pulled Raylan's anxious cat a little closer and nodded. "She was just scared, someone took Raylan down, made her anxious."

"Made me anxious." Said Art, eyeing the cat warily.

"Looks like someone slipped him a mickey of some kind." Tim gave Art a shrewd look, "since Raylan's unlikely to go drinking or turn his back on someone he don't trust, I'm betting it's someone we all know."

Art scowled and ticked a finger at Tim. "Y'all can put that out of your mind right now."

Tim looked down at She-Devil, "we have proof."

"Proof?"

Tim pointed to Art's arm, "you the only one she scratched?"

"Yeah. Goddamn cat."

"So other than you, She-Devil's got something of the last fella she scratched under her claws."

"Son, you have been watching too much tv again."

Rachel appeared in the doorway. "Bus is here. And Tim's right, chances are there are some pieces of Raylan's attacker under her claws. Maybe even her teeth."

Paramedics arrived, and Tim scooped She-Devil up, the cat lay uncharacteristically quiet in his arms.

Tim Gutterson wasn't a gambling man, but odds-on, he knew Boyd Crowder was involved.


	6. Chapter 6

Tim thanked Art's secretary, Lynn, for the report and went back to his desk. He had been right, there were sufficient skin scrapings beneath She-Devil's claws, and even a tiny piece of skin in her teeth for a match. And, true to form, that match was Boyd Crowder.

Tim cast a wary eye over to Raylan's hat. Raylan had been in hospital for the last two days, the doctor determined that his system was highly sensitive to the sedative that he had been shot up with. Having decided that the level of sensitivity suggested a conservative approach, Raylan was being monitored while he slept it off. Winona wasn't keen on She-Devil, and she had the baby to look after, so Tim was playing uncle to Raylan's crazy cat.

She-Devil refused to be separated from Raylan's hat. She would curl up asleep inside it. She would press her nose against the band, at the front where it landed against Raylan's forehead, Tim would watch her sniff the band and draw the scent over her tongue. Tasting master. While Minnie would lie on the back of the sofa, paws folded under her chest, chubby baby face scrunched up in disapproval of the wild, harum-scarum creature that Tim had temporarily introduced into the household. Since he didn't want his own cat beaten to a pulp, and She-Devil was very clingy and strange, Tim took her in to work with him.

She wasn't as wild as the day Tim had taken her in, but since her day appeared to consist of sleeping inside Raylan's hat, only venturing out to wolf something down, and occasionally climb onto Tim's lap, cuddling up close and drooling on his shirt while her front paws kneaded his leg, Tim was somewhat at a loss what else to do.

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"Where are m'clothes?" There was something pinching his finger, but Raylan really couldn't be bothered to work out what it was. There was a killer headache pounding through his skull. Attempting to open his eyes had just made that a lot worse. He raised his hand and attempted to grind the heel of his hand into the throbbing place, which didn't make a scrap of difference.

"You are not going anywhere." Winona's voice sounded clipped, in that angry sort of way she had when she was about to deliver the dressing down of Raylan's life.

His head hurt. He wondered, between throbs, if there was any way a fella could get cut some slack.

The final humiliation, he was pretty sure his lower lip trembled.

It worked. Winona's voice softened, her fingers gently slid through his hair, and were rubbing a nice little circle on the back of his neck. The pain in his head started to dissipate. "Ray, whatever Boyd slipped you, it laid you out for two days."

It was on the tip of Raylan's tongue to ask how she knew it was Boyd, but the magic fingers were making him want to purr like a cat.

CAT!

Raylan's eyes flew open, he gasped at the jolt, screwing them shut again, he whimpered a little at the pain. "She-Devil."

"Sssssh. Tim's got her, she's fine." Winona bent over him and gently kissed his forehead, "now your only job is to lie still and get better so that Franny and I can spring you from this place this afternoon."

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Fine was not an adjective that Tim would have applied to Raylan's cat. She had woken from her long and slightly disturbing nap in Raylan's hat, and had slithered down from the place on top of the filing cabinet where Tim had put the hat. Made her way stealthily across until she could jump on Tim's lap. Where she burrowed against him and started the kneading and drooling thing again.

Tim rolled his eyes and remembered just why he had brought two changes of shirts to work today. He looked down, She-Devil was clamped against him, her head rubbed against his chest, she was purring and dribbling and he didn't need to see the sizeable damp patch to feel its unwelcome presence.

"God. Please. Go and drool on Rachel. Or the Boss Man."

"I heard that."

Tim shot Rachel a look. "Y'could help me out here." Rachel pulled a face and made negative waving motions with her hands. He slipped a hand under She-Devil's belly and carefully put her to one side as he stood up. Scooped up the Boyd Crowder file, slapped the report inside it and headed straight for the conference room. Paused halfway there. "Stay." He ticked the file at She-Devil sprawled in his in-tray, grooming herself.

Art and Vasquez looked up expectantly, and for a split second Tim felt really angry. Raylan might be irritating, but he was a good and loyal friend, and Tim had known the instant he'd clapped eyes on Raylan's unconscious body, and his nearly hysterical cat, that Boyd Crowder had had something to do with Raylan's condition.

He placed the file in front of Art with exaggerated care. Art raised an eyebrow.

Tim adopted the unconcerned slouch that had carried him through many tense office moments, when all he wanted to do was grab the Barrett and shoot something. "Boyd Crowder." The only outward sign of his annoyance, the absence of his usual drawl.

Art raised the other eyebrow, "Don't be a smartass."

Vasquez reached for the report.

From the bullpen, there was a sudden shriek of fright and Lynn jumped aside as She-Devil launched herself off Tim's desk into Raylan's startled arms. Winona just behind, carrying Baby Franny in her car seat almost jumped back herself.

Tim felt a wave of relief that was probably out of proportion to the situation, but Raylan was upright, moving under his own steam, he looked a little grey around the edges, and a bit wobbly, but he was clearly okay. She-Devil had her paws wrapped around her master's neck, and was burrowed against him squirming and Tim could hear the purring from ten feet away.

Raylan pushed open the door, ignoring his cat. "It was Boyd Crowder. NOW can we go pick him up."

Art was on his feet, and he had that look on his face. "Raylan, sit down before you fall down. Y'not going anywhere." He shot a look at Tim, "that's Tim and Rachel's job."

Raylan sat down, and pried She-Devil away from his neck. Unrepentant, she wrapped herself around his arm and stared around the room as she nipped at his wrist bone.

Vasquez eyed the cat warily, "this time we need everything to stick. So you need to stay far away from Boyd Crowder."

Raylan looked up at him, absently stroking his crazy cat. "No argument from me." He glanced towards Winona, currently surrounded by the ladies of the office, "I don't think he meant to kill me, but that's a chance I can't take any more."


End file.
